We see a lot of people struggling with weight issues and their body image. With the available resources and materials for weight loss spilled all over the place, those, who are over weight, are a bit confused about which method to follow to shed those extra lbs. Although the basics of weight loss do not change, they depend on setting realistic goals, cutting the calorie intake and exercising a little bit. Many presume that a weight loss program is all about a restricted diet, or fad diets, or diet pills and involving strenuous physical exercises. But, actually the basics of weight loss program are rational, flexible and healthy to which any one can adhere to while they work well on the person aiming to lose weight.

The first basic step towards weight loss is to set a reachable goal. When setting a goal to reduce weight, it is good to know the reason for doing so, benefits you may get at the end of the weight reduction program and the changes you are willing to make in your diet. This kind of analysis of the self helps understand the problem the better way and helps in setting realistic goals for weight loss. The weight loss efforts should be a reasonable one and should be gradual.

Once the goal is set to reduce say two pounds a week, then comes the step of creating a food journal to analyze and monitor what you eat for the particular week. This food journal helps keep track of what you eat, or drink. Sometimes the feeling towards the food you eat is also jotted down. This is very important as it throws light on the food pattern and habits of the person. The weight loss is also recorded. By reviewing the food pattern, the foods that needed to be avoided can be seen clearly and can be substituted with healthy foods. The secret is to be very consistent with this surely you will see positive results. Water is a very good natural hunger suppressant and can be taken in good quantities, if you note that you are drinking less amounts of water. It too can contribute to the weight loss efforts.

When the diet is combined with good exercise say walking or swimming or aerobics, it too aids in burning calories. The exercise should be in such a way that when it is done, it should be enjoyable, choose the kind of activity which interests you a lot than slogging. Exercise too needs to be tracked in the journal to see its effects with your own eyes.

When someone joins my personal coaching program, one of the first things I ask them to do is to describe exactly what their body is going to look like once I help them reach their goal weight. I ask them to do this in writing not over the phone, and heres why

Deeply imbedded negative thoughts are what cause us to have difficulties in any weight loss or health enhancement program in fact, our past failures can almost always be traced back to negative thoughts that we didnt even realize we had.

Most of our negative thinking comes out when we write things down on paper or on the computer.

I challenge you to write out 10 brief descriptions about how your body will look in 30 days if you were coached by someone like me someone who knows exactly how to transform the human body no matter what stage of the game youre currently at.

Go ahead, take a moment and write out what your face would look like, what your arms would look like, what your legs and your butt would look like would your skin look different, would your muscles be tighter, would you be leaner detail everything, then come right back.

Did you do it?

Make your list now before reading any further I want you to walk away with some profound knowledge of yourself when youre done reading this article.
OK, now that you have your list, let me show you something that you can use to judge whether or not youve been causing yourself to fail in your attempts to lose weight and keep it off.

Here are some examples of statements that a good friend of mine used to have before he and I began working together statements that were literally holding him back from success

Facemore chiseled features, no double chin, no doughy jowls or puffy cheeks, no bags under the eyes.

Other than improved facial shape, I really have no complaints at all about my face, hair, eyes, nose, ears.

Neckno double chin or wattle

Chestno gynecomastia womanly breasts, muscular instead. Look, ma, I can see my ribcage and pectoral muscles instead of a soft mattress of flab.

Armshard sinewy curves instead of soft breadsticks. Seeing veins and muscles instead of smooth fat.

Abdomenare there really abs hiding in there? Theyve never made an appearance in 50 years! Itd be nice to have a tight waist not uncomfortably sliced by too-tight underwear.

Legsless of a conical shape, more elongated and solid. Although my calves have always been rather large and firmmy best body part, next to my brain.

Buttocksless sag, more form
Backcould be a lot less hairy, would be nice to see a V shape instead of a truncated pyramid.

Can you see why he might have had a few troubles in the past reaching his goal?

But Ill let you in on a little secret this guy is in great shape now and enjoying life more than ever, and hes a pleasure to speak with each week in our coaching calls.

Now heres a list from a woman who recently completed one of my coaching programs this list was written out after our first session together watch how positive every statement is

WHAT MY BODY IS GOING TO LOOK LIKE

my face will be thinner, more defined
my posture will be great all of the time
my legs will be free of cellulite and extra fat
my butt will be sculpted and defined
my abs will be tight and defined
my arms will be cut and defined and strong and sexy!
my chest will be lifted and shapely
my back will show definition and be sexy!
I will feel the urge to walk around naked all the time! around my house and my husband, of course
I will walk confidently knowing that I look great!
I will compliment my awesome body with cool clothes that show it off
I will wear a bikini from now on!!! No shorts over the bottom!
I will wear those short shorts I have sitting in my closet
my skin will be clear
I will be unbelievably beautiful and sexy!!!

When making your list, make sure to avoid using any negatives, and have fun with this exercise the short time you take out of your day to make your list will save you tons of time and frustration in the near future.

First of all, you need to understand, that your body needs a proper Balanced Nutrition Diet, with a proper daily amount of vitamins, proteins, minerals and carbohydrates.

Get into a habit of eating exactly 3 Meals a day.

1. Eat breakfast within one hour of rising.
Breakfast provides at least 30 percent of the total energy and nutrition needed to sustain the human body during the whole day. And therefore it is very important to have a proper breakfast and not to skip it.
2. Have a healthy low-fat lunch snack.
Have a healthy snack in your lunch time, low fat yogurt for example, to keep your energy running.
3. Have your dinner three hours before your bedtime.
Have a Proper dinner three hours before your bedtime; never go to bed on a full stomach.

Drink at least 2 liters of water a day.

2 liters of water a day would help your body to burn calories more effectively and to get rid of toxins.

Exercising is a KEY.

By exercising, your body gets an advantage of many physiological benefits such as

- Weight Control by elevating your metabolism so that you burn more calories daily.
- The Boost in your energy level
- Strengthening of your heart and lungs
- Improvement in your self-image and self-confidence.
So, dont forget to exercise at least 10 minutes a day.

Try to avoid using fats.

Try to keep the fat level in your cooking as low as possible.

Make Calcium your friend.

Include as much calcium as you can in your daily diet by eating

- Oranges
- Broccoli
- Soybeans
- Tofu
- Sunflower Seeds
- Papaya
And other sources of calcium.

Calcium is a crucial element for bone metabolism. Calcium deficiency is very common. The “Average” American diet does not even come close to meeting the normal calcium requirements

425 mg. a day for Men
450 mg. a day for Women

So, to sum it up
1. Have exactly 3 meals a day
2. Drink at least 2 liters of water a day
3. Exercise at least 10 minutes a day
4. Avoid fats
5. Make calcium your friend

By following these 5 simple rules, you will be losing weight in no time.

Heres some more myths weve been taught to believe over the years. Experts weigh in on the truth that lies behind each of these tall stories.

All carbohydrates are bad for you and should be avoided. TRUTH Carbohydrates have a moderate amount of calories having half as many as fat. Simple carbohydrates sugar should be limited – complex carbohydrates whole grain, starches etc. are higher in nutrients. Problems occur when servings are too large!

You can eat more foods if they are low fat or fat free. TRUTH Low fat or fat free does not mean calorie free. Usually, when the fat is taken out, sugar and other carbohydrates are added in to keep the taste.

Dairy products are fattening and should be avoided. TRUTH Dairy products contain a good quality protein to build muscles and help organs work properly, and calcium to strengthen bones. For weight control its better to consume low-fat dairy products skim or 1 milk and products, like cheese and yogurt.

Eating after 8 p.m. causes you to gain weight. TRUTH It does not matter what time of day you eat. It is what and how much you eat as well as how much physical activity you do during the day that determines whether you gain, lose or maintain weight.

What you eat is more important than how much you eat. TRUTH the amount you have and how often you have it is more important. You should try to consume healthy food choices in the recommended portion sizes and save those foods and beverages that are high in fat, sugar and calories for special occasions.

You need to exercise for at least 45 minutes at a time to get the full benefit. TRUTH Adults should engage in moderate-intensity physical activities for at least 30 minutes on 5 or more days of the week. Research has shown that the activity does not need to be done all at one time- 30 minutes can be split into 2 – 15 minute intervals and provide the same benefits.

All vegetarians are healthy eaters. TRUTH vegetarians on average eat fewer calories and less fat than non-vegetarians. However they can make food choices that contribute to weight gain by eating large amounts of high-fat, high-calorie foods as well as food with little nutritional value. The term vegetarian is not synonymous with health.

As long as you watch your food intake, you do not need to exercise. TRUTH If you are trying to maintain or even lose weight, exercise can help you increase your lean tissue muscle while decreasing your fat stores. However, the benefit of regular physical activity goes well beyond maintaining a healthy weight.

Consuming highly nutritious foods, paying close attention to portion sizes reading labels, consuming sweets and treats in moderation and engaging in regular physical activity is the best plan to maintain a healthy lifestyle. And make sure you have all the facts before passing health info on to the next person!

Healthy weight is a big deal.Here are some diseases that you are putting yourself in risk of if you are carrying a lot of extra pounds

1. heart disease
2. stroke
3. diabetes
4. cancer
5. arthritis
6. hypertension

Losing weight helps to prevent and control these diseases.

It is better to rely on a healthy weight loss option which will provide lifetime results. You have to set realistic goals and not expect to lose a lot of pounds in a short span of time.

The quick weight loss methods which have spread like fire these days do not provide lasting results. More often than not, dieting methods which involve dietary drinks, foods and supplement or pills do not work. If they do, the results are just temporary.

Here are some tips on how you can lose those unwanted pounds the healthy way

1. Do not starve your self.

The key to a healthier way of losing weight is Do not diet.

If you get used to skipping one or two meals a day, your stored calories will be used up instead of the energy that should have been provided by your meals. So if you just eat one huge sandwich in one day, it will end up straight to your problem area i.e. highs, buttocks, hips.

You may seem happy and feel that you are losing those unwanted flabs on your belly and thighs by skipping meals. But remember that this would not last long. Your body cannot tolerate having insufficient food to fuel the energy that you use up everyday.

2. Start your day right.

Mothers always say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Have a healthy meal in the morning to jump-start your metabolism.

Your food intake after you wake up will be used to burn fat all day long.

3. Eat smaller, healthy meals frequently.

Five small serving snacks per day is better than three hearty meals. Eating more frequently, and in small servings, can prevent over-eating. This will also increase your metabolism and make calories burn faster.

4. Decide on how much weight you want to lose.

Keep your goals realistic. In the long run, it is virtually impossible for you to lose 40 pounds in 2 weeks. Have a mindset that you want to eat healthy to stay healthy for the rest of your life.

Once you have decided on a weight loss plan or program, stick to it and make sure that you follow your own set of dieting rules.

5. Drink lots of water.

Your body needs sufficient water to burn fat and keep your cells hydrated and healthy.

6. Avoid too much sugar.

Plan your meals around lots of fruits and vegetables, some bread, rice or pasta for that carbo fix that you need, plus lean meat and protein rich-foods. Sweets, sodas and pastries should be once-in-a-while indulgences only.

7. Watch your fat intake.

Fat is not the culprit to being overweight. You need this to keep your weight at the proper level.

There is such a thing as healthy fats. Olive, peanuts and canola oil have them. Tuna, salmon and mackerel have omega-3 fats which is good for the heart.

8. Exercise.

Leave your car if you are only going a few blocks from home, take the stairs instead of the elevator, jog, cycle or skate. Use these activites and other home chores if you are too lazy to go to the gym and take exercise classes. Make sure that you do this regularly and you will not even notice that you are already shedding pounds with these mundane activities.

It does not matter how much weight you plan or need to lose. What is important is that you set realistic goals for yourself.

Go slow. If you have already lost 5 or 6 pounds, give yourself a break then try to lose the next 5 pounds.

Eat healthy, drink lots of water, have enough sleep and exercise. This will give you a higher chance of losing weight and improving your health, which would result to a new, healthier you.

Understanding why and how the happy diet works.

There is a simple explanation and that being is you get to choose what you want to eat. Most diets today prove to be very stressful for many men and women in their quest to lose weight. This is because they are following instructions from others on what they should and should not be eating. How do these people know? What tickles your fancy?

Discover how the happy diet can work for you, what is the happy diet you ask. It is a diet carefully devised by youself with all the things that you like to eat. You get to choose your own meats fresh fruit and vegetables

Diets definitely work if you adhere to all the rules, break them then no results. Now let us get cracking on a diet that makes sense and guaranteed to put a smile on your face
Just imagine your own diet with all the juicy ingredients and succulent meats that suit your palette

Always consult a doctor if you are thinking about dieting or exercising as we individuals all differ in many ways.

A little research on daily intake of carbohydrate protein and fat is an important factor when devising your own diet. I suggest you browse magazines or approach slimming informational centres to find out about your chosen foods.

Find a list of all the foods that you know you are going to enjoy using in your recipes and that are good for helping you to shed those excess pounds. Then narrow it down to the ones that you want to have on your menu.

This part of the happy diet can prove to be very educational and fun to say the least. People accept diets and all the ingredients. This way you get to delve more intimately into the choices you have made for your own personal plan.

After checking all the important factors as in i.e. consulting the doctor and daily intake of fats etc. we are now ready for the physical side of things. A few ideas to help speed up the process exercise try dancing round the kitchen table with the kids they make think you are mad but who cares you are on a mission to find the new you.
Spring clean not once a week maybe twice. This will help hurry things along and into the bargain a cleaner house. Remember this is your plan so do it when it suits you. Results will only come if you stick to what you started out to do.
Walking a great form of exercise, why not consider salsa lessons it all helps. Do not expect results over night

For starters Excuse the pun throw out the frying pan.
Less grease on the plate to lose weight
Grilling with out a doubt is a far healthier and tastier option.

Cut down YES cut out NO you can still nibble on little goodies. Just cut down? Watch where others go wrong, most diets of course will not work if the rules are broken. Now why would you want to break the rules on the happy diet when all that is on the menu was chosen by you?
It makes sense
Consulting a dietician is a good idea for information. Joining a book club may also prove to be priceless in your quest. Make your own recipes to suit your own taste buds.

Well, its been labeled as the greatest remedy-the physician within by Philippus Paracelsus and more and more people are discovering the use of fasting as a means of improving health and losing weight. However, as beneficial as this method can be, being radical in nature, the use of fasting should be approached with care.

Though fasting is by far a greater cure of our ills-both physical and mental-than all of the drugs of the medical fraternity combined, for weight loss or for anything it may be used for, one has to be aware of certain criteria to achieve success with its use.

These include the types of fasts one can use, how long to fast, when to fast and how to come off of a fast.

Friends, there are several types of fasts that can be beneficial for weight loss.

1. The complete water fast This, admittedly, should be conducted with extreme caution or in a specialized sanitarium if undertaken more than 3 days.
2. The Juice Fast This is much easier for the general populace and can be undergone as long as you feel like it.
3. The Fruit Fast This, well, is really not a fast per sebut when one lives exclusively on SEASONAL ORGANIC fruits for days on endmeaning mono meals 2 at the most of only one kind of fruit say Apples in Fall, Melons in summer for a week plus, you will be bound to see the benefits.

The second and third choices are by far my personal recommendations for those seeking to lose weight through fasting.

How to Fast

Being far-reaching in nature, fasting must be undertaken with care, however from my experience with it, here are a few tips to hopefully get you started.

1. Prepare yourself for a fast by gradually tapering off of acid-forming aka junk foods and commence to consuming raw and cooked fruits and veggies to begin a milder cleansing process as these items are the best intestinal brooms for the colon.
2. Every now and again, 3 hours after supper and say an hour or so before retiring to sleep, drink an herbal tea laxative such as Smooth Move Herbal Tea during this preparatory stage.
3. Drink 1-2 quarts of unflavored lemonade in the mornings to balance the chemical reactions within the body and to restore it to an alkaline state.
4. Be mentally prepared for the task ahead of fasting.
5. Take things a little easier while fasting or on a mono-diet of fruit.
6. Avoid using microwaves at all costs-cant go into detail as that is another subject, however, TRUST me. You want to exclude the use of this so-called convenience device not only while fasting put permanently.
7. Taper off a water fast by using the second type juice fasting for a few days, then gradually going to the third mono-fruit fasting, then afterwards you could like I do most of the time simply stick to tons of fruit as the core of your diet or include properly cooked roots, steamed or raw leafy vegetables.

Whatever you do, just please dont go back to eating the old junk stuff. To explain why in a nutshell, here are two quotes You are what you eat and Let your foods be your medicine

I really think options 2 and especially 3 in regards to the types of a fast are quite easy for any and everyone to do. So why not give it a shot? I can confidently say fasting, when used properly, will not only make you lose the excess pounds, but youd also be well on your way to a cleaner, better, healthier and happier you in no time.

It may come across as a huge sacrifice however, when you see the results, you sure will be glad you did it.

Heres to your health and happiness.

Everyday it seems, we hear stories about people who joined a weight loss program, lost weight and look great! Before and after photographs provide dramatic proof that yes, these programs do work. But how do you decide which weight loss program is best for you, and make it work?

First, you have to remember that the aim of a weight loss program is to take weight off and KEEP IT OFF. Yo-yo dieting puts stress on your body that can make losing weight harder and harder and packing it back on far too easy. It’s important to choose a diet plan that will help you make changes to your eating habits that will last a lifetime.

If you’re a yo-yo dieter, you probably have a history of swinging between very restrictive diets and then returning to ‘normal’ eating once you’ve lost the weight that you need to lose. You’ve proved that you have willpower now what you need is re-education. Instead of choosing a strict regimen that you’ll abandon when the diet is done, commit to following the recommendations for healthy eating from the USDA, and add half an hour of exercise to your daily routing five times a week. You’ll establish healthy habits that will take off the pounds – and help you keep them off forever.

Secondly, decide just how much help you need. What motivates you? Are you a private person by nature, or do you do best with a lot of social support? Are you a strong-willed person who can decide to do something and ‘just do it’, or will you need help overcoming temptation?

If you thrive on social motivation, joining a weight loss program like Weight Watchers or TOPS Take Off Pounds Sensibly might be the best option for you. You’ll have social support, motivational rewards and weekly check-ins to help you stay on track and give you goals to aim for.

Next, do you do best with regimented, strict instructions that tell you exactly what you should do step by step, or are you happiest and more comfortable with a little flexibility?

If you do best when you have strict guidelines to follow and like routines, then look for a diet that gives you daily menus with precise measurements and foods to eat. While that may feel restrictive to many people, the trick is to do what works for you. In fact, once you reach your target weight, you can subscribe to a healthy eating or living magazine that has daily menus.

If restrictive diets and inflexible menus aren’t for you, then try a diet that gives you the option of mixing and matching your meals within certain parameters. Whether you count carbs, calories or exchanges, a diet like the Atkins, Weight Watchers or the Zone diet gives you some flexibility within the prescribed ‘allowed foods’.

Finally, how much weight do you have to lose? How long have you been trying to lose it? Will quick results keep you motivated, or is slow-and-steady progress all you really need?

Try a Quick-start with the Atkins diet to strip off the early weight – a lot of it water weight – quickly so that you will see results immediately. When your results from such restrictive eating are slow, pick up the activity by adding a little more exercise and vary your diet a little – but count your calories and carbs. Aim for a steady 1-2 pounds per week, but if you need an extra boost, drop back to a more restrictive pattern to give your metabolism a little kick. The trick is to never stay with an extremely low calorie diet long enough to slow your metabolism. Just drop down and pick up the activity level long enough to wake yourself up again.

You always hear the old adage, lets go exercise and work up a good sweat like sweating is a sign that youve had a good, productive workout. But what if you exercise and you dont really sweat during the workout? Was that workout a lost cause? Does it mean you just didnt exercise long or hard enough for it to be a productive workout?
Well lets examine the facts here and dispel the ever popular myth about just why you sweat and its relation to exercise.

Your body is like an engine that never stops running and like all engines, it produces heat. The more your muscles contract, the more heat is produced. If the body didnt have ways of keeping you cool, you would overheat and collapse within 20 minutes.

The first method is radiation where heat radiates out of the skin if the air around you is cooler than your body. The second method is conduction which is the transfer of heat by direct contact such as swimming in a pool of cold water where the water absorbs your body heat. The third method is convection where moving air cools us down like when you stand in front of a fan or when the wind blows. The last method is evaporation where water from our blood absorbs the heat and rises to the surface of the skin through the sweat glands so it can evaporate creating a cooling effect.

In colder conditions, you will not need to sweat as much due to the body using radiation to keep cool. In hotter conditions, sweating is the primary method of keeping cool due to the air being hotter than your body but if there is humidity present, sweat cannot evaporate as well and thats why you will see sweat dripping off you. Since in these conditions sweat doesnt evaporate, radiation and convection remember the moving air? are used by your body to keep cool.

Everyone has a different sweating pattern. Gender, age, fitness level and environment contribute to how much you sweat. Women seem to sweat less and start to sweat at higher temperatures than men. People tend to sweat less as they grow old and thus cannot take the heat as well as a younger person but declining fitness levels may have something to do with that. In laboratory experiments where both young and old people were of similar fitness levels, there was no notable difference in their sweating process.

If you exercise in an air-conditioned room or outside when its a cooler time of year, you will not sweat as much because the cold air evaporates your sweat faster and also sets your body up to use more of the radiation method meaning your body can deal with the heat created by exercise more easily. It does not mean you are not burning as many calories because the intensity and length of time of your exercise is what determines caloric burn, not how much you sweat. You are sweating all the time but you just cant see it because it is always evaporating.

If it were true that the more you sweat, the more calories you burn during exercise then it would also be true that you would be burning more calories simply sitting in a hot, humid room so as to build up a sweat but this is obviously not the case as the sweat you would be seeing is due only to the conditions of the room not allowing for evaporation for cooling the body.

Exercise produces heat, heat produces calorie expenditure, and you produce the same amount of heat whether exercising in a cold environment or a hot one so just because you dont sweat as much in the colder environment does not mean your exercise session was less productive.

Have you wasted valuable time and money trying to lose weight? Then tried again and again? One thing Americans know how to do is market. The desire for quick and easy weight loss has created an ideal opportunity for modern-day snake oil salespeople to pick your pockets by selling magical diet products.

One minute youre innocently reading the newspaper and the next minute you find yourself ordering a sixty dollar, one month supply of diet pills. After all, those before and after photos look great and they say it works.

Or youre now the proud owner of the latest infomercial gadget that promises to wrap, buzz, sway, steam, lift, or glide you to slenderness. All too often you find its only useful for drying your clothes on.

In our desperate quest to be skinny, we buy the strangest things. Next time youre hypnotized by a diet commercial, remember these red flags

1 The product involved putting anything non-food into your body. Pills, potions, chemicals, herbs. None have been proven to cause substantial, permanent weight loss.

2 Promised results require the purchase of any special gadget at all. The only thing you really need for physical fitness is a good pair of walking shoes.

3 The program is based on unproven fads like food combining, forbidden foods, or magical effects of certain types of foods.

4 The advertising promotes use of a product but the small print explains that the plan requires drastic calorie restriction and exercise to get results – so why buy the product?

5 Outlandish or miraculous claims are made of rapid weight loss, changes in body shape, or weight loss from specific parts of the body.

The fact is that 95 of diets fail and the constant search for a quick fix is a sure path to disappointment. The human body is naturally healthy and strong. It doesnt need potions and gadgets and certainly doesnt need starvation.

Listen to your body. Give it the food it wants when its hungry and stop when its full. Move in ways that feel great. Play more. All of these are completely free and will create vibrant, natural, long-term health that expands and enriches life.